Zoe’s Story

Our stay at Hope House couldn’t have come at a better time. Over the past 6 years our family have been through more than a family would experience in a lifetime. My Mum & Dad are 70yrs old. Mum had previously had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma twice before and a stem cell transplant that was so incredibly tough on her. It’d been nearly 3 years that the stem cell transplant had given her but now to hear the worst news ever… Mum could no longer have the treatment as before because her bone marrow wouldn’t be able to take it and the cancer would just keep coming back.. They had to stop the chemotherapy and we just had to make the best of whatever time we had. Dad had to retire to become mums carer. His mental health took a downturn it all hit him very hard and with the breakup of my own marriage I just didn’t have the strength to go on anymore.

When we had our wonderful stay at Hope House, this was the most precious time mum, dad and I could’ve had together at one of the worst times of our lives. The peace that came over us was unreal. All our tension eased away. When we looked out at the still sea, a still calm came over us and soothed our souls. How lovely it was to wake up with my mum and dad in the mornings in such a beautiful relaxing atmosphere. It is a wonderful place for a carer to unwind.

What I myself loved the most, was the walk along Whitehead sea front up towards the lighthouse. Just to be at peace away from being a mummy myself for a few days was medicine to my soul.

I can’t recommend Hope House enough. If you are a couple, a family or if like me you just need somewhere special to make precious memories together. I can’t recommend Hope House enough and we can’t thank everyone at Hope House enough for providing this wonderful service.

Hope House truly gives us families affected by cancer a space to breathe. A place to heal the soul. A place to find and have hope to help us cope. We all came away so refreshed from our time there.

Zoe